


Welcome Home

by Akoia



Series: Magic and Masks [3]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-16
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2019-08-24 15:12:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16642628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akoia/pseuds/Akoia
Summary: Jason watches the kid sometimes, to make sure he gets home safe.





	Welcome Home

Jason watches the kid walk home from school most nights. He doesn’t  _ go  _ there, or any school close by, but he manages to jump around the city until he can spot the tiny eight-year-old walking along like he  _ wasn’t  _ being neglected by the adults in his life. 

People used to give him trouble when he walked home at night until Jason showed them the  _ error  _ of their ways. Or he had been until Bruce had put his foot down and demanded he stop. But he still got the message across. Harry Potter, for whatever reason, was  _ off limits.  _ If anyone harassed him, they would have to answer to Jason Todd. He might be a rich kid, but people still remembered that name. 

Harry was sitting alone on the swings one night, and Jason watched him. He sadly dragged his feet across the woodchips, looking on the verge of tears. Jason sighed and stepped out of the shadows. Jason dropped into the swing next to Harry, throwing his book bag on the ground. Harry flinched, letting out a quiet whimper. “Hey, kid...it’s a little late for you to be sitting out here all alone, don’t you think?” Jason asked. 

Jason knew Harry didn’t like him as much as he liked Dick. Which was  _ fine,  _ he wasn’t upset by that. He didn’t need the physical, upfront affection that Dick gave. Nor did he  _ want  _ it. He was just fine watching Harry from the sidelines. Making sure that people didn’t rob him while he walked, keeping count of all his bruises and reporting them to Bruce, one time dressing up in a pumpkin mask and egging Vernon Dursley’s car while he was at work. The little things. But Jason knew that he could still come off as harsh towards people who didn’t know him really well. So he eased up his posture and smiled at Harry. “You doinn alright?” He asked. 

Harry looked down and shook his head. “I forgot to weed the garden this morning. Uncle Vernon’s going to be so mad at me,” he sniffled, wiping his eyes with sleeves that were much too big for him. He looked like a little bug. 

“Is he going to hit you?” Jason asked, and it was like he’d opened the floodgates. Harry’s tears poured down his face like a river. Jason didn’t say anything, he knew it’d make everything worse. He got up from the swing and stood behind Harry, gently pushing him forward. He heard Harry’s weeping stop after a few pushes. He kicked his feet a few times and Jason smiled when he heard Harry giggle. When they stopped, Jason helped Harry put his crappy backpack back on and took him by the hand. “Did you finish all your homework at school?” Jason asked. 

“Yep, I did it during lunch,” Harry said proudly. 

“Good job.” Jason ruffled his already wild hair and pushed him affectionately. “Okay Harry, I’m going to walk you home, but don’t be afraid, alright? I’ve got a plan.” 

“What kind of plan?” Harry asked quietly. 

“The kind where if your aunt and uncle are  _ smart people,  _ they won’t lay a hand on you.” 

“Okay.” 

* * *

Jason walked up to the front door with Harry’s hand in his, watching as his shoulders curled further in, his head down, his lower lip trembling. Jason squeezed his hand a little tighter. “Trust me, okay?” He said. Jason raised his hand and knocked a few times on the door. He jumped when he heard something crash. The door swung open and a purple-faced man answered the door.

“Whatever you’re selling, we don’t want it!” He snarled. He looked down and saw that Harry was clutching onto Jason’s pants. “ _ You,  _ boy, you’ve got some explaining to do!” 

“Sorry to disturb you mister Dursley,” Jason said, putting on the most pleasant smile that he could. “My name is Jason Wayne, I’m a friend of your nephew’s.” Jason watched as the man’s tiny little brain connected the dots, one after the other. “I’m sure you’ve heard of my father, Bruce Wayne!” 

“Oh! Yes, of course, how can we help you, mister Wayne?” Dursley asked, wringing his hands together. “Could we offer you a cup of tea?” 

“Oh, I don’t want to  _ bother  _ you, I just wanted to drop off a message from my father,” Jason said, grinning brightly. “He is so interested in meeting you! We’ve known Harry here for a few months and we just wanted to get to know the  _ wonderful  _ family that raised him. He wanted to know if you were free this Saturday? We’d love to host you in our manor for an afternoon.” 

Vernon looked at him with wide eyes, nodding a few times before he found his words. “Y-yes! Yes of course! We would be delighted!” 

“Fantastic!” Jason pat Harry on the shoulders. “We’ll see you on Saturday then, alright, little buddy.” 

“Yeah…” Harry seemed uncertain, but he went along with it. “See you Saturday, Jason...is Alfred coming to pick you up?” He asked. 

“Yep, he’s meeting me back at the park.” 

“Okay, I’ll see you soon.” He shifted uncomfortably and Jason rested a hand on the top of his head. His lips twitched up a bit and a weight left Jason’s chest. 

Jason nodded once to Harry and shook Vernon’s hand, before walking away. He didn’t want to leave Harry there. He  _ hated  _ the ideas that were running through his head about what  _ could  _ be happening. He wondered if Durley was smart enough not to beat his Nephew, three days before he went to meet his new boss. 

* * *

“Don’t be mad,” was the first thing Jason said when he saw Alfred and Bruce in the kitchen. They looked at each other in alarm before turning to Jason. “I  _ said  _ don’t be mad.”

“We aren’t mad,” Bruce said, folding his newspaper up and setting it down on the table. “Now tell us what happened.”

“I was walking Harry home and when we got to his house, I invited the Dursley’s to come over for dinner on Saturday.” He looked at his two guardians. Alfred nodded to Bruce who sighed. 

“We aren’t mad,” Bruce said first. “I was actually planning to pay Mister Dursley a visit  _ Monday.  _ We’ve compiled a case against him and his wife for abusing Harry. I was hoping to use that to convince him to sign over custody of Harry to me. But I suppose...Saturday is as good as any day.” 

“What are you going to do?” Jason asked. 

“Present my case to mister and misses Dursley. Then convince them that it will be in their best interest to hand over custody of Harry to me quietly.” 

“You’re not going to let them get away with abusing Harry for years, are you?” Jason asked. 

“No...if Jim Gordon is handed a file full of evidence against them, Bruce Wayne can’t be blamed for that.” 

Jason snorted and opened the fridge, pulling out a Capri Sun. “I love it. I guess it’s going to get a little crowded around here, with a little kid running around.” 

“Are you going to be okay with that, Jason?” Bruce asked. “We’ve all been so caught up in the situation, we haven’t asked you how you felt about another child living here.” 

Jason snorted. “Trust me, Bruce, if I had an issue with it, I would have let you know about it.” 

Bruce sighed. “Yes…I imagine you would have.” 

* * *

Saturday came fast. Jason put on the nicest clothes he had that were ‘appropriate to the situation.’ He even let Alfred style his hair. “Are you happy we’re getting another member of the family?” Jason asked the older man.

Alfred looked momentarily caught off guard before a smile slipped onto his lips. “I am overjoyed, master Jason. While I have not had the pleasure of meeting young master Harry, it gladdens my heart to see the family come together. This is the longest I’ve seen master Bruce or master Dick interact since they had their falling out.” Alfred put the hairbrush down. “I believe that this new member to our strange family will bring hope with him.” 

The Dursley’s arrived at the manor exactly on time. Alfred answered the door for them, taking their coats. They brought their son, Jason couldn’t remember his name. Then there was Harry, in clothes that were too big on him, but still much better than the trashbags his relatives stuffed him in. He was even sporting an ugly green bowtie. 

“Mister and misses Dursley, please follow me,” Alfred said, gesturing towards the stairs, where Bruce was waiting for them in his study. Alfred gave Jason a ‘look.’ “Master Jason, please entertain our other guests,” he said. 

“Sure thing,” Jason said. “Is Dick coming over too?” He asked. 

“Master Dick is running late. He will be along in half an hour.” Alfred looked at the clock. Dick would be there a little past eight thirty. 

Jason watched the adults leave and turned to the two kids who were looking up at him curiously. Harry was shifting nervously away from his cousin. “Do you two want to play some video games?” Jason asked, not really sure what he was supposed to with the two of them. If it was up to him, he’d shove Dudley and his awful parents out into the yard and take Harry to do something fun, but Alfred would be mad. 

“What video games do you have?” Dudley asked, pushing Harry out of the way and walking closer to Jason. 

“I’ve got most things,” he said with a shrug. “My older brother has all the consoles that he could get his hands on. I’ve...appropriated them now that he never uses them.” 

He led the two boys to the living room and had them sit down. He turned on the television and handed two controllers to the kids. 

“I want to be player one,” Dudley said, snatching the other controller out of Harry’s hands and handing him the other one. 

Jason wasn’t really sure what to do so he just sat next to Harry and watched them play for a few minutes. He noticed that Harry was losing intentionally. He still didn’t say anything. Harry was leaning into him and seemed to be having a fun time, and that’s all that Jason really cared about. “Do you want something to drink?” He asked them.

“Water is fine with me,” Harry said, not taking his eyes off the game. 

“Juice, if you’ve got it,” Dudley said,  _ also  _ not taking his eyes off the game. 

Jason got off to the couch and wandered back to the kitchen. He got a glass of water for Harry and found some apple juice for Dudley. When both glasses were in hand, he started back towards the living room, just in time to see Dudley pushed Harry into the glass coffee table, breaking it with Harry’s small body. “Cheater!” The larger boy screamed at Harry, throwing the controller at him. Jason rushed forward and pushed Dudley out of the way, dropping to Harry’s side. 

There was running from up the hall and there were suddenly adults in the room, all talking over each other at one. Dudley looked between Jason and his mother before bursting into fake tears, rubbing his eyes. “H-h-h-he  _ pushed me!”  _ He cried and Jason rolled his eyes so far in the back of his head that they almost popped out of their sockets. Petunia Dursley was shrieking at him, rushing over to her son’s side and holding him close. 

Bruce slammed his hand down on a table where a vase was sat and the room went silent. “Mister and misses Dursley, our business is finished. Vacate my home and may you never darken my doorstep again.” Bruce turned to Harry who was crying silently, his face hidden in Jason’s shoulder. The man walked forward and kneeled down next to the two boys. “Harry…Harry, can you please look at me?” He asked, his voice soft, and kind. 

Harry looked at him and Bruce flinched when he saw the blood running down his nose. Bruce pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it against the boy’s face. “Harry, would you like to stay here?” He asked. Harry blinked in confusion. “Would you like to come live here with us? Your aunt and uncle have signed guardianship of you over to me, are you okay with that?” 

Harry’s face scrunched up and he threw himself at Bruce, who caught him and held him close to his chest. “Yes,” Harry cried, hiding his face in Bruce’s neck. “Yes, please let me stay here!”      

“Alright,” Bruce said, lifting the small boy up into his arms. “You can stay here as long as you like. This is your home, as long as you’ll have it.” 

“Hey, this is sweet and all, but his face is bleeding,” Jason said, pointing to Harry’s bloody nose. He turned to the Dursleys. “Now can you three get the fuck out of our home, thanks so much.”

“ _ Language _ , master Jason,” Alfred said firmly. He turned to the Dursley family and gestured towards the door. “If you will please follow me.”  

“Jason, will you please help Harry cleanup?” Bruce asked, handing the boy off into Jason’s arms. “I have some...errands to run.” 

“Sure,” Jason shrugged, he carried Harry upstairs. “Sorry about leaving you two alone. I didn’t think he was going to hit you when there were people so close by.” 

“I’ll be okay,” Harry said, winding his arms around Jason’s neck. “Am I heavy?” He asked. 

Jason couldn't help but laugh. He shook his head. “No, you’re light as a feather, I promise.” Jason shifted Harry and frowned, yeah he was really light. But with any luck, Alfred would fix that. They came by the room that Alfred and Bruce had been working on for a while. Jason opened the door and smiled when he saw Harry’s face light up in wonder. 

“Is this really for me?” Harry asked. 

“It sure is, welcome home, Harry.”   

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos are always welcome


End file.
